MI & Halloween: Use MI to Avoid Sugar Binge?

Happy Halloween! Happy Samhain!

In America at least, today is a day for eating candy.

Lots of it.

My kids have been counting down the days to Halloween for the last 4 months. They literally have been vibrating with excitement for the sugar binge.

So why am I writing about Halloween and Motivational Interviewing?

Well…to address the question, Can you Motivationally Interview your kids to eat less candy?”

Probably not! Ha! There is too much momentum to gorge on chocolate and candy. Plus, that’s my goal for my kids, not their goal for themselves!

I thought I might take the opportunity to name a few Motivational Interviewing concepts, as it relates to this topic!

1. We don’t use Motivational Interviewing to get people to do what we want them to do. Sure, I would really, really love for my kids to not eat a year’s worth of candy in one night. But that is not their goal at all! Trying to use MI as a conversation style to get them to do something I want them to do, that they have no interest in doing is called manipulation. I could choose a more directive approach and limit their consumption of candy, because I am their parent, but that’s another thing entirely!

2. Once we know what a change target is in Motivational Interviewing, we then know how to listen for Change Talk (arguments for change) and Sustain Talk (arguments against change, or sustaining the status quo). Knowing what the target for change, determined by the client (not us!), then we can move on to cultivating Change Talk to build momentum towards change. Motivational Interviewing is a way of talking with people about growth and change to strengthen their own motivation and commitment to change.

3. Change Talk & Sustain Talk. In this case, if eating less or no candy for Halloween is the target for change in a MI conversation, then we can begin to identify the two sides of that argument- to binge on candy (sustain), or eat less (change). In Motivational Interviewing, we spend less time eliciting and exploring a client’s sustain talk, because in fact we know that the more people talk about change, the more likely they are to change. So instead, we elicit and reflect change talk using specific methods. I might ask, “What concerns do you have about eating too much candy?” And when my daughter recalls that last year, she had sores on her tongue and a tummy ache after Trick-or-Treating, I might reflect, “You remember when you overdid it last year, and want to avoid doing that again.” Then perhaps, “Tell me what thoughts you have about moderating your candy consumption tonight?”

Well that was fun! And I hope you and your loved ones have a safe night.

Motivational Interviewing Tip of the Week: Remember, we don’t determine the topic of a Motivational Interviewing conversation- our clients do! Once we know the topic, or the desired change, then we can begin using methods to elicit and explore their own motivations for change!

Watch my full video here!